I am the Chief Insights Officer for Forbes Media responsible for managing Forbes' Insights thought leadership research division, as well as the Forbes CMO Practice. I am the co-author of "Profitable Brilliance: How Professional Services Firms Become Thought Leaders" now available on Amazon http://amzn.to/OETmMz as the previously published "In the Line of Money: Branding Yourself Strategically to the Financial Elite" available on Amazon http://amzn.to/AuHRN9
Bruce H. Rogers is the co-author of the recently published book Profitable Brilliance: How Professional Service Firms Become Thought Leaders

Building the Bridge from Communications to Business Strategy

Kasper Nielsen: If you want to create business value from your communications in today’s environment you need to master both the art and the science behind corporate communication. As corporate communications moves from “nice to have” to “business critical” the expectations and demands have grown tremendously.

The days when the Communications Department just provided the beautiful prose for company executive speeches and developed personal and public relations are over. In today’s world, the Chief Communication Officer is expected to implement a structured process for 24/7 brand and reputation management for all stakeholders, across all channels and across all markets.

That’s a tough challenge but also a great opportunity for those who have a vision for how communications will be integrated into the way companies make better decisions.

But the reality today is not matching demands. Most communications departments live on their own island. They do their own thing. It is relevant to themselves and a few people inside the company. And they gain visibility by all the great messaging they create, but in the big business perspective, their connection to profit and sales remains nebulous at best.

BR: What are the new demands for the Chief Communication Officer?

Kasper Nielsen: For Corporate Communications to become relevant to the business they need to build a bridge to the business strategy and join the fight for market share, customer loyalty, license to operate, and stock price. And to win that battle, new tools, processes and competencies are needed.

“What is the predictive model that guides our investment in communication? What is our ROI on communication, and where should we invest more? How is our reputation driving business value?” Those are the questions now being asked. And most CCO’s are not prepared to give an answer.

From our 2013 Reputation Leaders study, the challenge is clear: 80 percent of reputation leaders across 300+ global companies agree that we compete in a reputation economy in which people buy products, take jobs, and make investments based primarily on their trust, admiration and appreciation for the companies and institutions that stand behind them.Only 20 percent feel they are ready to deliver on these expectations and even take advantage of them.

BR: What are the challenges facing leaders who want to implement a reputation approach?

Kasper Nielsen: The number one challenge seen by reputation leaders is that they have no structured process for reputation management. They need a system that makes it possible for them to influence, guide and benchmark the actions of the larger organization. And because of that, it is impossible for them to leave their communication island and join the forces operating in the core strategic areas of the company.

Reputation management is the bridge that connects communications with the business strategy. Through reputation you become relevant to all C-suite executives. From the CEO and the CFO who want to make sure that you have the license to operate in all countries and that the market believes in your future potential – to the COO who wants to be sure that your sales force has the latest proof points on hand to convince customers that they should trust your company. Communicators have the responsibility to support these C-suite needs, EVEN though the mode of action takes them off their comfortable communications island.

But you’re not alone in this – Marketing, Public Affairs, HR, and Communications need a common platform to engage from if they are to deliver real and sustainable value to the company. Reputation provides that platform. And the Chief Communication Officer should be the facilitator of this.

BR: What are the specific steps the Chief Communication Officer should take to move forward on the journey?

Kasper Nielsen: To move the company forward the CCO needs to take control of the process and define the answers to business questions like these:

What is the direct business impact of a good or bad reputation?

How does our stakeholder ecosystem work and what impacts do each of them have on the business?

What is our reputation strategy?

How are we implementing the strategy into the business?

Where are we investing money on communications and why?

So the question to ask yourself is – am I working on these answers? Or do I have them already? And if you do then you are among the 20% who are ready to win in the reputation economy.

Post Your Comment

Post Your Reply

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.

Comments

This is an excellent view on the externally facing side of communications. I’d add in the importance of internal communications to executing against business strategy. Employees are your most critical ambassadors for brand and reputation, and they are key to successfully executing strategy. So the communications function must inform, inspire and engage them in the strategy so they live it, and execute against on a day by day basis.